Presently, the electrical/electronic systems and the thermal control and structural support for the electrical/electronic systems of a spacecraft are designed and fabricated separately and then connected to one another during the final assembly of the spacecraft. Typical structural support elements for the electrical/electronic systems include load-bearing plates, frames, shells and walls. Thermal control for electrical/electronic systems is generally achieved using radiators, cold plates and the like. The electrical/electronic systems are implemented in the form of "black boxes". Each black box contains a plurality of circuit boards that are each connected to a mother board. The mother board provides power to each of the circuit boards and communication paths that permit signals to be transmitted between the circuit boards. The mother board also provides power and communication interfaces to the environment exterior to the black box. The transmission of power and signals to the black boxes is achieved with relatively bulky cables that mate with the appropriate mother board interfaces.
The process of separately designing and fabricating the electrical/electronic systems and the related structural support and thermal control systems of a spacecraft and then connecting each of these systems to one another during final assembly results in a spacecraft in which a substantial portion of the available volume within the spacecraft is occupied by these systems. As such, the room available in the spacecraft for other systems is constrained by these systems. Stated differently, the ratio of electrical/electronic functionality to the volume occupied by the electrical/electronic systems and the associated structural support and thermal control systems is relatively low. Furthermore, the present process has resulted in a spacecraft in which a relatively large percentage of the overall mass of the spacecraft is attributable to the electrical/electronic systems and the related structural and thermal control systems.